Method for cutting glass bottles

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for cutting hollow cylindrical members such as glass bottles includes rotary support structure on which a hollow cylindrical member may be rotated about its axis. The rotary support structure includes axially and laterally spaced support rollers with a pair of laterally spaced of the rollers adjustable toward and away from the other laterally spaced rollers to make a cut of a selected length. One support roller has a cutting edge engageable with the periphery of the supported member during rotation for forming a circular score line with a full revolution thereof. Heat is applied to the member along the score line such as by a flame, and the member is then rapidly cooled such as by quenching with water to effect a break along the score line. The edges at the break are smoothed by sanding with an abrasive material or the like.

United States Patent [191 Gelfman 1 Sept. 2, 1975 [54] METHOD FORCUTTING GLASS BOTTLES 3,406,886 lO/l968 Wesel et al. 65/112 X 3,572,5643 1971 Fl 225 2 R [76] Inventor: Ephrem J. Gelfman, 855 Orman emmgBoulder Colo' 80303 Primary Examiner-Harrison L. Hinson [22] Filed: Feb.25, 1974 [2]] Appl. No.: 445,219 ABSTRACT A method and apparatus forcutting hollow cylindrical US Application Data members such as glassbottles includes rotary support [60] Continuation of Ser. No. 284,600,Aug. 29, 1972, structure on which a hollow cylindrical member may g l233 5 July 1970 be rotated about its axis. The rotary support structureincludes axially and laterally spaced support rollers i with a pair oflaterally spaced. of the rollers adjustable [52] US. Cl. 225/1,82/922852/24Zz, toward and y from the other laterally spaced lers tomake a cut of a selected len th. One su ort 2 323? 5; ii roller has acutting edge engageable with the pe ri ph 1 0 care 82/92 46 ery of thesupported member during rotation for forming a circular score line witha full revolution thereof. Heat is applied to the member along the scoreline [56] References cued such as by a flame, and the member is thenrapidly UNITED STATES PATENTS cooled such as by quenching with water toeffect a 566,436 8/1896 Woodruff 225/1 break along the score line Theedges at the break are 610,538 9/ 1898 schl'adef 1 225/1 smoothed bysanding with an abrasive material or the 1,719,588 7/1929 Campbell etal.... 65/112 like 2,959,507 11/1960 Long 65/112 X 3,036,405 5/1967Dwinell et a1 225/935 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED 219753.902.643

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METHOD FOR CUTTING GLASS BOTTLES This is a continuation application ofSer. No. 284,600, filed Aug. 29, l972,-now abandoned, which applicationwas a divisional application of Ser. No. 53,741, filed .luly l0, l970now US. Pat. No. 3,699,829. 1 1

This invention relates to a novel and improved method and apparatus forcutting hollow cylindrical members and particularly to method andapparatus for cutting glass bottles in such a way'as to remove the upperneck portion and make the bottom portion below the cut into a usefulcontainer for other purposes. t

Glass bottles are used' by suppliers of liquid products and arediscarded after the liquid'contents have been removed. Presently thereis no generally accepted use for discarded glass bottles and as aresultthey frequently contribute to the problem of littering.

Accordingly. it is a ge'rie' ral'objectof this invention to provide anovel and improved cutting method and apparatus for cutting hollowcylindricalrnembers' made of glass or the like. l I

Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatuswhich is specifically adapted to remove the upper neck portion from aglass bottle and the like in a relatively simple, easy and inexpensivemanner and in such a way that the bottom portion below the cut may beused as a container for other purposes. l

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel apparatus whichwill provide a true circular or annular circumferential grooveat aselected position between the ends of glass bottlestor, like cylindricalmembers of a variety of sizes and shapes.

In accordance with the present invention in a preferred embodimentthereof there is provided a cutting apparatus capable of making atruecircular groove or score line in the circumference of a.glass bottle orlike hollow cylindrical member. This cutting-apparatus is principallycharacterized byaxially and laterally spaced rollers to engage theunderside of the supported member and support it for rotational motionabout its axis. One support roller adjacent an opening in a stationaryupright support for the member has a peripheral cutting edge and formsthe score line as the supported member is rotated on all of the rollers.The other upright support for the rollers is axially adjustable andpositions the member relative to the cutting edge. The supported memberis flame-heated or the like and then rapidly cooled to effect a cleanbreak along the score line. The edge along the score line is thensmoothed by sanding to remove sharp edges.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention willbecome more apparent as the description proceeds taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cutting apparatus with a glassbottle shown in a supported position thereon;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the apparatus with the bottleposition shown in dashed lines; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the cutting apparatus shown comprisessupport structure in the form of a bed or base plate 11 having a fixedsupport portion 12 upwardly directed from one end of the plate 11 and aseparate movable support member 13 oppositely disposed from the fixedsupport portion 12, the movable member 13 being slidable along the topplanar surface of the base plate toward and away from the fixed supportportion 12. The fixed support portion. 12 is integral with the baseplate and has the same width. The movable support member 13 has anL-shaped cross section including a flat, outturned base portion 13aparallel to the top planar surface of base plate 11 and a flat supportportion 13b upwardly directed from base portion 13a which is disposedparallel to portion 12. Resilient cushion strips 14 are mounted underthe base plate along each side thereof to cushion the base plate 11.

To facilitate a guided sliding movement for the movable support member13 along the top of the base plate parallel to the side edges of plate11 there is provided a pair of spaced, parallel, longitudinal slots 15located inwardly and parallel to the side edges of the base platetogether with a pair of screw bolts 16 extending through the slots 15from below the base plate 11. Each screw bolt 16 extends upwardlythrough the slot and then through an aperture in the base portion 13a. Awing nut 17 is threaded on the upper threaded end portion of each boltand in this way the pair of bolts and wing nuts will firmly hold themovable support member 13 in a selected fixed position with uprightportion 13b always parallel to the upright portion 12. A series ofequally spaced and oppositely aligned positionindicating indicia linesrepresented at 18 are provided in the top planar surface of the baseplate along the outer side edges at equally spaced intervals to indicatethe position of the movable support member 13 on the base plate 1].

Roller structure is provided above the base plate to support aconventional bottle represented at 21 having a lower cylindrical portion21a and an upper neck portion 21b centered along a common central axis.While a bottle is being shown as one application for the apparatus, itis understood that other hollow cylindrical members of glass or the likemay also be cut by the practice of the present invention. This rollerstructure includes a set of laterally spaced support rollers 22 and 23mounted on the upstanding portion 13b which extend inwardly towardupstanding support portion 12 with the axes of rollers 22 and 23arranged parallel to one another. These rollers are positioned an equaldistance from the center of the upstanding portion 13a and are disposedon opposite sides of a vertical line through the axis of the bottlesupported thereon.

The fixed support portion 1.2 has a central, circular upwardly directedopening or slot 24 for receiving a portion of the bottle oppositely ofthe bottom thereof. A pair of support rollers arranged coaxially withthe first pair includes a roller 26 mounted to the inside of the slot 24and it is coaxially aligned and axially spaced from movable roller 23.The peripheral surface of roller 26 is beyond the edge of the slot 22and above the top edge of the upright support portion 12 so that thebottle is supported above or clears the upright support portion. Theother support roller 27 of the second set is in the form of aconventional cutter blade which has a center axis defined by a supportshaft 27b which is axially spaced from and coaxially aligned with roller22 and comprises a plurality of cutter wheels 27a mounted for freerotation on individual shafts on a hub 270. These cutter wheels haveaxes arranged on a common radius outwardly of the center axis at equalcircumferentially spaced intervals and the periphery of each wheel 27aextends beyond the top edge and the circular edge of the upright supportportion 12. The hub 271' will rotate on shaft 27b. Thus rollers 22, 23,26 and the radially arranged rollers 27a form four spaced supports, withtwo at axially spaced positions on opposite sides of the bottle. In theoperation of the apparatus, after the length has been set the bottle isrotated a complete revolution and this produces a circular score line inthe wall of the bottle represented at 31 which is a true circle.

The construction of support rollers 22, 23 and 26 may take a variety offorms but as shown in the drawings includes a flat-headed bolt 32 with athreaded end portion. The bolt 32 extends through an aperture 33 in itsassociated upright support portion. A nut 34 threads on the outerthreaded end and a pair of washers 35 and 36 are positioned on the bolton each side of the upright support portion. A central shank section ofthe bolt carries a metal roller sleeve 37 on which there is mounted aresilient frictional cover sleeve 38 of rubber or the like whichcontacts the peripheral surface of the bottle and affords a relativelybroad frictional surface area in engagement with the bottle.

In a preferred procedure for cutting the glass bottle shown, the lengthof cut is first set by adjusting the distance between support portions12 and 13a by sliding member 13 to a selected position on the base plateand then tightening the wing nuts 17. The bottle 21 is placed in arotative supported position on the rollers as shown in FIG. 1 with thebottom of the bottle being placed against the support portion 13a. Thebottle is then rotated at full revolution or complete pass so as to forma circular groove represented at 31 which is a true circumference of acylinder and at right angles to the longitudinal axis thereof. After thecircular score line is formed, heat is applied to the bottle along thescore line. The heat may be applied with an open flame such as, forexample, with a candle or this may be accomplished with hot water nearboiling temperatures such as running it under a tap while rotating thebottle. The heated bottle is then rapidly cooled such as with cold waterso that the rapid contraction effects a clean break in the bottle alongthe score line to separate the neck portion from the bottom portion. Theedges of the bottle along the score line, for the bottom portion, arethen smoothed to remove any sharp edges by sanding or grinding. This maybe accomplished by a fine wet or dry sandpaper using a silicon carbide,aluminum oxide or other glass grinding powder with water for wetting toprovide a smooth rounded upper edge. The bottom portion is then in theform of an open glass-type container which may be used for a variety ofpurposes.

Although the present invention has been described with a certain degreeof particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has beenmade by way of example and that changes in details of structure may bemade without departing from the spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. The method of making a glass-type container from a glass bottlehaving a cylindrical portion terminating in a closed end and a neckportion terminating in an open end comprising the steps of resting thebottle for rotation about its longitudinal axis with the cylindricalportion disposed upon axially and laterally spaced positions of rollablesupport beneath the bottle, positioning said axially and laterallyspaced positions of rollable support to engage the cylindrical portionof the bottle with the longitudinal axis of the bottle extending in asubstantially horizontal direction, rotating and exerting a downwardpressure on the bottle with the external bottle surface in engagementwith an underlying cutting edge spaced beneath the longitudinal axiswhich defines one of the spaced positions of rollable support to form ascore line in the external surface thereof, then applying heat to thebottle along the score line and rapidly cooling the bottle along thescore line to effect a separation into two parts at the score line.

2. The method according to claim 1 further characterized by supportingthe bottle for rotation at axially and laterally spaced positions alongthe underside of the cylindrical portion of the bottle.

3. The method according to claim 1 further characterized by frictionallyengaging the bottle at the axially and laterally spaced positions ofrollable support.

4. The method according to claim 1 further characterized by supportingthe closed end of the bottle to prevent axial movement of the bottle ina direction toward the closed end as the bottle is rotated.

1. The method of making a glass-type container from a glass bottlehaving a cylindrical portion terminating in a closed end and a neckportion terminating in an open end comprising the steps of resting thebottle for rotation about its longituDinal axis with the cylindricalportion disposed upon axially and laterally spaced positions of rollablesupport beneath the bottle, positioning said axially and laterallyspaced positions of rollable support to engage the cylindrical portionof the bottle with the longitudinal axis of the bottle extending in asubstantially horizontal direction, rotating and exerting a downwardpressure on the bottle with the external bottle surface in engagementwith an underlying cutting edge spaced beneath the longitudinal axiswhich defines one of the spaced positions of rollable support to form ascore line in the external surface thereof, then applying heat to thebottle along the score line and rapidly cooling the bottle along thescore line to effect a separation into two parts at the score line. 2.The method according to claim 1 further characterized by supporting thebottle for rotation at axially and laterally spaced positions along theunderside of the cylindrical portion of the bottle.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1 further characterized by frictionally engaging thebottle at the axially and laterally spaced positions of rollablesupport.
 4. The method according to claim 1 further characterized bysupporting the closed end of the bottle to prevent axial movement of thebottle in a direction toward the closed end as the bottle is rotated.